Croatia suffered a major setback early on when starting forward and second-time campaigner Leon Tomic was taken to hospital after less than four minutes with a bleeding tongue.

With one of the key components from their team absent, the task of overcoming Italy became somewhat more difficult as Antonio Bocchino's troops fought back from an 11-point deficit to tie the game at 34 at the half.

Going point-for-point through the third quarter, Italy took a one-point lead into the final quarter thanks to a buzzer-beating three from Martino Mastellari.

Despite returning from hospital for the final quarter, Tomic was unable to provide the touch his team required with Croatia guilty of missing too many open shots in the lane down the stretch.